Scared horsey help please..!!!!!

SatansLittleHelper

SatansLittleHelper

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How would you go about putting a rug on a very nervous/sharp young ISH x WB..??? He doesnt have much coat and Im concerned he will feel the cold. He hasnt dropped any weight/condition yet. He lives out 24/7 and I dont have stables so this is not an option :-(
This boy is 2.5 years old and Im his 5th home since Apri :(l...he was broken at just turned 2 (!!!!!!!:mad::eek:) and sold as a 3 year old :mad:. He doesnt know if he is coming or going bless him. I now have a headcollar on him and I can handfeed/cuddle/tie up etc but he goes into a loopy fit if you put a rug near him..!!! He tenses straight away if you touch anywhere below his neck...I dont even want to know whats made him so worried.:(:(:(:(
Also he is approx 15.3hh at the moment but not very bum high....what sort of height do you guys think he will make..?? I know nothing about his parents at all as he was bred in Ireland.
 
I would leave him unrugged and let him use his coat to regulate the temperature how he needs it. if he has plenty of hay and shelter from the wind he should be fine and it will give you time to get him over his fears before he needs to have a rug on. ours are warnbloods and tb's from foals to ridden horses and they all live out unrugged quite happily and its only the clipped ones that get rugged. its unlikely he has been rugged before so another winter will not be a problem for him and once he is relaxed with you and not worrying about being touched everywhere you should not have a problem getting a rug on so give him time its what he needs most. i also would be worried about a scared horse having a panic in the field if the rug moves or attacks him in some way and hurting himself.
 
To help desensitise him it's a good idea to tie a glove stuffed with a bit of wadding to the end of a stick (not a bendy schooling stick!) and then with you standing at his head end you can start to rub him with the "hand" and be out of the kicking zone.

I'd agree with other poster, if he's that scared you'll have to leave him unrugged until he's confident with things touching him.

When you do eventually start putting a rug on him start with getting him used to a numnah, and then a lightweight rug, and then slide a full one onto him, but folded up small, and slid up from the shoulder rather than flung up over his back.
 
Is he by Harlequin du Carel? I have one and he was very sensitive when he arrived, took ages to accept new things although always sweet natured.

Back to your issue, I would start with getting him used to being rubbed with a towel all over, lie it on his back once he is happy with that gradually desensitise him to it all over, then move onto a thin rug, a fleece would be ideal, fold it in half and put it on if he is ok fold it back to cover him and do it up. Walk him round in it for a while . The next step is a turnout rug, if he is really stressy you are probably best leaving him without one and stuffing plenty of hay down him, he should grow some more coat if it gets colder.
 
I had the same situation with my highly strung 17hh WB last winter -so he just wintered out unrugged. He had a field shelter and I just ensured he had adlib hay and a short feed daily and he kept most of his weight. My boy is really fine and does not get much coat - but he thrived. This winter he is in a better place mentally and much calmer - so he is rugged this winter.

You need to consider that even if you get a rug on your horse you will need to be able to adjust and fiddle with it and take it off at least weekly, so it's not just a case of getting it on and done.
 
YasandCrystal said:
You need to consider that even if you get a rug on your horse you will need to be able to adjust and fiddle with it and take it off at least weekly, so it's not just a case of getting it on and done.
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I assume you mean daily and not weekly?! All the grass liveries gets their rugs shifted and checked under daily and even more so when weight can come off so quickly.
 
Unless you have a stable and or very secure small area for him to get used to the rug, not a great idea. I use both for scared "rug newbies". We get in handled since birth horses to break and wearing a blanket is part of the deal. Your guy probably had one on at some stage if he was broke. Please don't assume we all break just turned 2 yo's here!

Here's the thing with rugs, of you get it wrong, horse can be injured or killed. I'm talking about ones that are a bit iffy. Most never have one moments bother. Even the ones we get that snort at the very sight of a rug, don't have any issues. I only use rugs which don't require leg straps to keep them in place. I had one that couldn't handle a fillet strap in a field. Trust me we did everything including driving and lunging in fields when she was broke. She was perfectly fine except when left alone. She panicked blindly. So unless she was in a turnout pen or stable she didn't wear one. Last year for some reason I took it off and never had another issue. Not even a hint of panic. I just tuck her tail into straps on the tail flap. I sew in an extra one!

But I agree with others, leave it for now. He should be fine. When you have more time and secure areas to work in then try.

Terri
 
That really isn't reading right. It's all done in stages with getting those used to rugs. I just don't wing them on and hope for the best. I really must try to clarify better just what it is I'm trying to say to save me from abuse!

I'd like to know the breeding too!

Terri
 
I have used the stuffed glove on a stick as mentioned by polotash this is very helpful for legs as keeps you safe from kicking and gets them use to the touch without danger to you. one of my previous rescue fillys came skinny and cold and pathetic looking and i desperatly need to rug and she was terrified. i started with a towel got her use to being rubbed on her neck and shoulders and then gently laid it over her back and left her too it for a while built her up to being left with a towel while she ate her super etc, we then upgrade to a simple travel sheet with just one front strap and a fillet string i used my long parelli rope to get her use to things going around her belly before we upgraded to trying x-surcingles and i kept her in a fillet string until she was use to having her back legs hadnled before daring leg straps. It takes time and patience never rush it as will jsut spook the horse and it will take longer to get them over it. a nice softy fleece wool sheet is best to start as they dont crinkle and rustle like turnouts and feel nice on thier skin the little filly soon came round and actually looked for her blnakey but she was desperatly thin and cold poor wy thing
 
Luci07 said:
I assume you mean daily and not weekly?! All the grass liveries gets their rugs shifted and checked under daily and even more so when weight can come off so quickly.
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Yes I mean moved about daily and checked and removed with a thorough grooming at least weekly - ideally more often. I check my lad's out daily but cannot remove it daily especially with the rain.
 
What I did was start off with a tea towel or towel (small size) place it on the horses shoulder then take it away build up to placing the towel on the horses back, this may take a while. Then when totally happy with this its on to a excercise sheet make sure you start at the shoulder( like the towel) and keep it folded when happy unfold on the horse, if he panics it can be removed quicker than a full rug. When happy with this it was on to the light weight rug, and repeat the procces. Make sure you fold the rug..( as per BHS putting on a rug) throwing the rug will not help the situation. GOOD LUCK :)
 
I would also leave him unrugged and just ensure he has plenty fibre for central heating. His coat will be better at regulating his temperature and I wouldn't want to rush desensitising him. Just do a little bit at a time but without the pressure of feeling that you have to rug him, then if it all goes well Joni will have the choice when the weather gets colder.
 
Leave him unrugged - its uneccessary provided he has adlib forage. Just work on the bond you have with him.

Here is some information on winter blanketing that may surprise you. This is the result of a multi-year study done by CSU, using state of the art thermal detection equipment. Colorado State University is widely considered to be one of the top three equine veterinary schools in the country: Blanketing horses is one of the worst things that you can do to a horse in the winter. Horses have the ability to loft and lower their coats to 17 different levels, so it's like exchanging 17 different thermal weights of blankets off and on them all day and night, depending on what they need- except that we don't know what they need as well as they do. Their 'self-blanketing' process works a little like 'chill bumps' do in our own skin. That's why long-haired horses may seem fluffier on some days than on others. Only three things make the 'self-blanketing' process not work: blanketing, clipping, and wind. Not even snow or rain stops their own thermostats from doing the job.

Also horses are in 'neutral' (meaning not using energy for either heating or cooling) when the air around them is between 26 and 38 degrees. Otherwise, they're using energy to control their temps. So- since they're cooling their bodies when the temp is over 38 degrees, they're having to use extra energy to cool themselves when blanketed in temperatures over that. Any time a horse that is outside and has a long coat is shivering, it's because the horse has opted to shiver to warm itself, instead of using the option of moving. Moving generates a considerable amount of heat for a horse, but they sometimes stand and shiver while napping, etc. It does not mean that they need to be blanketed.

However, a horse MUST have a way to get out of the wind in order for their self-blanketing' abilities to function fully. It turns out that blanketing is done more for pleasing the human, than to fill a need of the horse. The horse blanket industry has done a great job of making us think that their product is a necessary part of good horsekeeping, when it is actually an item that is very seldom needed.
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TigerTail said:
Leave him unrugged - its uneccessary provided he has adlib forage. Just work on the bond you have with him.
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OP -- so glad things are coming right for you. There are some wise people on this forum.

TigerTail -- that's a great quote! Can you give a source, please, as who ever wrote it is full of good sense and I'd like to read more!

Due to factors out of my control, I had foals born in mid winter here (Scottish Highlands). I was worried sick as I could not bring them inside. But they were fine with natural shelter and plenty of food, so don't worry. Feeding is the key.
 
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